


Rain

by Miasmajesty1



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Dragon Who
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 10:38:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4016590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miasmajesty1/pseuds/Miasmajesty1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight and Charley get caught in the rain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rain

**Author's Note:**

> This is an offshoot from my favourite AU, [Dragon Who.](http://laurelhach.tumblr.com/dragon_who) Essentially everything is the same only Gallifreyans naturally look like dragons. [This](http://laurelhach.tumblr.com/post/96882700822/for-some-reason-i-imagine-eight-laying-down-like) is how Eight looks. What can I say, I'm a sucker for both Doctor Who and dragons. Anything combining both has my heart forever.  
> Also, the most inspired title I will ever use.

A clap of thunder interrupted Charley mid-sentence. The boom echoed throughout the landscape, reverberating through the pale pink hills and off into the valleys.  
"Oh, that doesn't sound good," Charley said, glancing up at the sky. "Perhaps you shouldn't have suggested that they all reconsider their lives," she added, turning and raising her eyebrows at the Doctor. They had visited this planet with the intention of finding a part for the TARDIS console that the Doctor had somehow broken off. He'd been very insistent that it fell, he did not break it, he didn't break parts of his TARDIS, thank you very much. All the same, the trip had been less than successful. A misunderstood solicitation followed by six bulky looking guards later, they'd ended up offending one of the lesser nobles of the city. The noble had down at the pair with what Charley could only assume was absolute outrage, though it was hard to tell; he had so many eyes; and promptly booted them out. They'd parked the TARDIS about a mile away, protected in the shadow of a hill, so the Doctor could show Charley the landscape. It had been nice at the time, but she was beginning to wish that he hadn't. That thunder was growing increasingly threatening, and dark clouds had began to form above them. She didn't fancy getting thought in an alien storm. Or any storm for that matter. She'd developed an aversion to freak weather as a whole.  
"I didn't tell them to reconsider their lives," the Doctor replied, looking at Charley, "I just said that they should take a good look at the sociological structures of their society and.." the Doctor paused. "Hm. We're going to get caught in that," he said, pointing upwards.  
"Don't avoid the question Doctor," Charley said, suppressing a snort. "This time it's your fault that we got kicked out," she concluded. The Doctor shrugged.  
"I suppose I can take full responsibility," he answered, sounding unconcerned. A fork of lightning arced across the sky, lighting the ground with unnatural light, quickly followed a boom of thunder. The dark clouds loomed every closer.  
"Alright, we better hurry up. I don't fancy being caught in that," Charley said, punctuating that by frowning pointedly up at the sky.  
"No, nor me," the Doctor agreed. They both made a point of walking faster.  
A comfortable silence followed, punctuated only by the ever frequent rumbles of thunder.  
"I'm sure we were closer than this," the Doctor said, scanning the horizon for any sign of the TARDIS.  
"They say that about trips don't they?" Charley said, casting another worried glance at the clouds. "It takes longer to get back?"  
"Do they?" the Doctor responded, distracted as he continued to search the horizon, "I thought that it was the journey to somewhere that took longer. The brain has to process the images more, but on the journey back it already has the images right there," he mused. "Then again, I could be remembering wrong," he added offhandedly.  
"Maybe we're breaking that rule then," Charley said.  
"Maybe," the Doctor agreed. There was a soft hiss and the heavens opened, a great rush of rain sweeping out ahead of them.  
"Oh, great," Charley said unhappily.  
"I'm afraid the only way is forward Charley," the Doctor said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. She squeezed back and shot him a reassuring smile. "Then let's go," she said, still smiling.

Another bout of silence followed until an idea popped into Charley's head.  
"Wait!" she cried, face lighting up. "I have an idea!"  
The Doctor expression faltered.  
"What kind of idea?" he asked warily.  
"Oh don't be so worried," she scolded. "I need you to be all dragon form though," she added, smiling.  
"I'm not a-" the Doctor stopped. "Alright, I won't ask," he said as he met her smile. Shifted his shoulder slightly, the Doctor's form unfolded from the oddly dressed man most were familiar with to scaled draconoid, forest green scales glittering in the low light. Not a dragon, he was awfully picky about language. He stretched out his forelimbs, rolling his shoulders up and stretching his neck skywards, before righting himself again.  
"Okay Charley, what's your idea," he said, voice ever so slightly changed. Reverberation from within his natural chest or something like that. He'd definitely told her but it had been lost to amazement. Travelling with an alien was one thing, travelling with an alien that looked like a dragon was another.  
"Alright, put your wings on too," she said, still smiling. The Doctor's ears flicked forward in curiosity. From his shoulder blades unfolded delicate blue wings, connected seamlessly to the rest of his body. He flapped them once for good measure, sending a whoosh of static charged air at Charley. She chuckled to herself and returned to the Doctor's side.  
"You might need to stand up," she hummed. The rain wasn't far off now, the fine spray beginning to reach the pair. The Doctor titled his head but obliged, standing up on his hand legs. Charley went to his side, and wrapped her right arm around him, and with her other hand gently took his left wing and draped it over her head. The Doctor snorted as he realised what she was doing and stretched his wing out over her.  
"You're going to use me as an umbrella," he concluded, shifting his tail to counterbalance his weight.  
"Yes I am," Charley said, feeling very pleased with herself. The Doctor snorted. "Ready?" she asked, hand pressed against his side. The Doctor nodded his head and carefully they both walked forward. Matching strides, the two strolled towards the oncoming storm.  
"I'm going to get soaked," he commented as lighting struck the sky above then. "Or get hit by lightning. That'll be new," he added dryly.  
"Oh hush," Charley muttered, "You're practically waterproof." The Doctor gasped and turned to look at her, ears back.  
"No I'm not!" he said unhappily. She looked back, surprised. "Look at my mane! I'll get soaked," he added, sounding defeated as the rain finally reached them. Charley realised with no small measure of triumph that she was indeed sheltered from the rain by the Doctor's wings. At least, mostly. The wind blew some of it sideways, but it was a damn sight better than having no shelter.  
"You could have asked me for an umbrella," the Doctor commented as they pushed into the tempest.  
"Why, do you have one?" Charley asked, curious.  
"I do.. in the TARDIS," the Doctor admitted.  
"Well that's not much good is it," Charley said, raising an eyebrow at the Doctor. "I'm surprised you don't have it in those massive pockets of yours," she said.  
"Well, I used to have it on me all the time," he said, "It was a trademark of mine. I, uh," he paused to consider his answer. Thunder boomed overhead and Charley flinched. The Doctor glanced at her, concerned. "Charley?" he asked gently.  
"I'm alright," she said. "You were saying about the umbrella?" she prompted.  
"Oh, it was a trademark. I grew out of it," he said. "Oh look!" He raised his arm to point to the horizon. "There she is!" he exclaimed. On the horizon stood a lone blue police box, silhouetted by the dark clouds.  
"Finally," Charley said, speeding up and pulling the Doctor with her. The TARDIS grew closer and closer, and Charley could feel relief bubbling inside of her. It would be good to be in TARDIS and out of this damned storm. She glanced at the Doctor, who was looking worse for wear. Whilst he was a good umbrella, he was looking a little bedraggled, mane soaked and nearly covering his eyes. He squinted at it, annoyed, but unable to push it out of the way without losing his balance. Charley reached out and pushed the wet hair back, beginning to feel guilty. The Doctor huffed in indignation, or perhaps it was gratitude, or both. The TARDIS was only a few meters away now.  
"Alright, you first," the Doctor said as they got the door. He stopped short of it, allowing Charley to unlock the TARDIS and bolt inside. He was quick on her heel, slamming the door behind him.

"Thank god for that," Charley panted, dusting off her clothes. "Well, I can safely assume that you're going to go drink copious amounts of tea," she said with a laugh. The Doctor shook his head, unhappily combing his hands through his mane. Charley rested her hand against her hip and watched as he beat his wings to dry himself. He glanced up it her and his ears went back. He looked away, tail flicking in irritation.  
"I'll get a towel," she said.  
"Alright. You know where they are?" he asked.  
Charley turned and walked, "Yup, be right back," she called as she left.  
The Doctor walked forward, standing up to send the TARDIS into the time vortex.  
"Good, because I don't," he said to himself. Pacing around the console, he pushed one of the levers upwards. The TARDIS thrummed as she dematerialised, leaving the storm behind. Charley reappeared a few minute later, carrying a stack of towels in her arms.  
"Okay, sit down," Charley said, walking over to the console. The Doctor walked over to her side and then paused.  
"Not here, it's not comfortable," he said. Charley rolled her eyes and followed him as he paced through the TARDIS corridors, past the kitchen, past the pool, past the butterfly room, and into the library.  
"The library?" she asked. The Doctor looked back at her.  
"No, of course not," he said disdainfully, walking through another door and into a small alcove. An offshoot of the library with more bookcases crammed full, but also a fireplace and a large TV screen. Charley gestured towards the Doctor.  
"Come on then, sit down," she said. This time he obliged, sitting back on his haunches. Charley walked forward and went to kneel down before her eyesbrows shot up.  
"What?" the Doctor asked.  
"Be right back," Charley said, shooting back up and all but running out of the room. The Doctor watched, bemused, as she ran. Shifted around, he ran a taloned finger through his tail and huffed unhappily as it got caught in the sodden knots. Frustrated, he continued to sit and mope until Charley returned, out of breath and wielding a wide-toothed comb. She had a wicked grin on her face. The Doctor was not as impressed.  
"I'm not an animal you can groom," he said pointedly.  
"I didn't say you were," she replied smoothly, sitting down next to him. "It'll just be easier for me to do it," she said, meeting his eye. The Doctor didn't immediately respond, but conceded defeat after meeting Charley's gaze.  
"Okay, you're right," he admitted, moving over to stand in front of her before lying down, front legs spread forward. Charley noticed he'd conveniently laid facing the TV. He reached forward, straining towards the table, and snatched the remote. Charley rolled her eyes and grabbed a towel. Charley didn't look up to check what he'd put on the TV and could only hear hisses and a language she didn't understand.  
"Hold still," she said, and began to towel dry the start of the Doctor's mane. He screwed his eyes shut.  
"This is still my face you know," he said, muffled by towel. Charley hummed in acknowledgement.  
"I'm trying to watch TV," he said.  
"Well, if you want to watch the moving pictures fine by me, but I'm trying to help," she responded, moving the towel down length of his spine, noting that it wasn't actually doing much good. There was something about the hair; or fur, but Charley thought it was probably hair; that was frustratingly good at retaining water. She took more care on his wings, rubbing on both sides gently until they were dry. Once she was done the Doctor retracted them back into dimensional fold he kept them in. Charley was pretty sure she understood the basic idea of it, but the very concept of just relocating them to a different dimension.. she tried not to think too hard on it. Instead, she tapped on the Doctor's side and he flicked his tail into her lap, flicking water with it as he did so.  
"Oh thanks," she said sarcastically.  
"What?" the Doctor asked, looking around at her. He glanced at his tail, then back at her. "Oh, sorry," he said, ears swivelling back sheepishly.  
"It's fine," she said, corner of her lip raising. She took more care on his tail; it was a magnificent thing, maybe the best part of her draconoid partner in crime. The only issue that it had a tendency to get rather dirty, something the Doctor himself had noted on several occasions, as he forgot to lift it above the ground. He'd said he wasn't used to it as most of his other tails were just scaly. That'd led them into a very long conversation about previous bodies. Charley was fascinated by it, but then again, she was fascinated by a lot of things. This new world was incredible, that was for sure. Satisfied with her towel drying, Charley tucked them behind her and grabbed the comb from where she'd put it at her side. She reached over and took the Doctor's neck and pulled him closer.  
"I could just face you," he remarked.  
"I thought you wanted to watch the TV," she said, glancing up at it. It was an alien soap opera of some kind. A large green creature with clawed three digits hands and bulbous black eyes ran through the rain, chasing after a levitating carriage-car. Charley could barely tear her eyes away.  
"They're Slitheen," the Doctor supplied, "and it's honestly awful. But still, I can't seem to stop watching," he added. "Still, come on, do your worst," he said, turning towards Charley and leaning his head down. Charley tore her eyes from the spectacle unfolding on the TV. She raised her eyebrows at the comment but began to gently run the comb through the top of the Doctor's mane. It was even more knotted than she'd expected. It was made even more difficult by the fact that the Doctor couldn't sit still.  
"Ugh," Charley commented, putting the comb down. "This is hopeless!" The Doctor rolled his head to the side and looked back at the TV. The Slitheen were now in a large mansion, taking; or at least Charley thought it was talking, for whatever reason the TARDIS was refusing to translate the show; with animated gestures and plenty of hissing. The new one was a browner colour. Temporarily defeated, the Doctor shifted back to face the TV, leaving Charley with a lapful of draconoid. He wasn't as heavy as she'd suspected. The pair stayed there for a while, watching the unintelligible; at least from Charley's point of view; soap opera. Or, as the Doctor mused out loud, this one was probably a period drama.  
"An alien period drama?" Charley said, bemused. The Doctor shrugged slightly. He didn't offer an explanation. His mane was almost completely dry now, so Charley reached for the comb before changing her mind. Instead she ran her hands through it, undoing the knots with her fingers. It was almost surreal, but the Doctor didn't seem to be bothered- he was far too absorbed in the soap now- Charley noted there was a new Slitheen, and that maybe it had cheated on one of them? Something like that. There was a lot of screeching and waving of arms. Charley continued regardless of the drama on the TV, making her way through the mane once again until she got to his tail. Now she picked up the comb and worked her way through methodically, parting her alien friend's tail into sections. She was so engrossed in her work that she failed to notice that the Doctor had in fact fallen asleep. She continued to not notice this, working through his tail and starting from his neck down, she combed out the knots until she was back at his tail. As she reached out to take the Doctor's neck and go through his fine parts at his head she realised there was a soft sound coming from him. She froze and leant back, putting the comb down. Listening harder, she realised with a barely suppressed giggle that he was all but purring, mixed in with the soft snuffle of sleep. She smiled wearily to herself. It had been a long week. Or weeks? She wasn't even sure. But she hadn't slept in a while, and she didn't have a clue when the Doctor last slept. For him to do so at all was a rare phenomena indeed. She could feel the rise of sleep herself, comforted by the warm weight on her lap and the gentle glow of the fire, accompanied by the white noise of the TV. It would hurt to sleep like this, but it would hurt more to wake the Doctor up and move him. Besides, a sore back was a fair price to pay for this moment of relaxation. Charley smiled, contented, and allowed herself to drift into an equally tranquil sleep.


End file.
